Summary: Jane is determined to leave CBI behind, but can Lisbon convince him to stay? Lisbon/ Jane Season 5 AU
Disclaimer: The Mentalist doesn't belong to me, I just enjoy playing in the sandbox I've been provided!
Rating: T at the moment, but may rise to M later in the story.
Spoilers: Everything up to and including the most recent episodes. This will end up being a sort of Season 5 AU. I won't be following the episodes strictly by any means, but I will most likely take aspects from here and there and twist them to my own weird purposes!
Authors notes: Well, I'm back! Hurrah! I've spent the last couple of weeks planning and writing bits and pieces of this, and I'm just about confident enough with the basic premise to post the first chapter and see where it goes. The story starts off right at the end of 04x23 ("Red Rover, Red Rover") straight after Jane is fired by Wainwright, then heads off full speed into AU.
I can't guarantee to update this as quickly as I did Red Tiled Roofs, but I'll certainly try not to leave it too long between posts. I'm going to aim roughly for weekly updates at the moment, but until I finish teaching at the end of June, I can't promise that I'll be able to dedicate as much time to this as I would like. I can, however, tell you that this is probably going to end up being fairly long I think; I have lots of ideas for what I want to include such as cases, Jisbon and other things, so I'm trying to prepare myself for the long haul!
The title for this story comes from the Battlestar Galactica 2003 episode of the same name; it seemed fitting somehow!
Feel free to let me know what you think, I always smile when I have a new review, favourite or follow :) Hope you enjoy…
She followed him as he marched towards the elevators, struggling to keep up as he walked away from the bullpen.
"Jane, don't do anything rash," she said, looking up at him as he waited by the familiar doors of the elevator. "We can work this out; we'll fix it."
"I doubt that," he replied, his back half turned to her. It seemed he wasn't even going to give her the courtesy of a proper conversation before he walked away from her, the team and the CBI. What was he thinking? If she didn't know better she would have thought he'd planned all of this for some bizarre reason.
Lisbon knew that the look she was giving him was a pleading one, but really, was he about to throw away nearly 10 years of his life over a petulant argument with Wainwright? She knew Jane was stubborn, but she had no idea that he was this petty. All he needed to do was apologise, keep his head down for a pre-determined period of time and then everything could go back to normal. Their version of normal at least.
"I'll come by your place tonight, we'll talk it out ok?" She knew she was practically begging, but she had a horrible feeling that if he left now, there was a chance that he would never come back. And that was a thought that frightened her more than she cared to admit.
Jane was practically smirking as he leaned forward to close the elevator doors.
"You're sweet," was all he had to say apparently, looking at her as the doors slowly began to close. In an instant Lisbon felt a wave of fury flow through her. 9 years working closely together, and "you're sweet" was all she was going to get as a potential goodbye? Like hell it was!
She rushed forward, shoving her arm between the elevator doors and yanked on his jacket, pulling him away from his escape route. He clattered against the metal of the doors as she pulled his sleeve and he rubbed his arm with his free hand as he stood before her, the glare on his face aimed straight at her.
"Lisbon? What the hell?" He looked furious, his tone accusing. He stood rigid, arm pulled in front of him where she held his jacket sleeve. Lisbon briefly wondered if she had pushed him too far. She found she didn't care.
"You think I'm just going to let you waltz off like that? No explanation? No goodbye?" She was still clinging to his sleeve, and she suddenly pulled him in the direction of the attic, as a mother would tug a sulking child. She knew full well that Wainwright and the team were probably watching their interaction from the bullpen and that her boss was likely still furious. She hoped that he valued her opinion enough to allow her to try and fix this. Wainwright wanted Red John as much as the rest of them; he would understand why she was doing this. He had to.
"You want to leave? Fine," she muttered at him at she traipsed up the stairs, the obstinate man still in tow. "But you'll damn well talk to me about it first you jackass." He didn't say anything in reply, just followed her quietly as they approached the attic. She slid the door open and all but pushed him in, not giving him an opportunity to turn and flee. He obediently entered and walked over to look out of the large window, seemingly preferring to look at the Sacramento skyline than her. If she wasn't so pissed at him, she would have admonished him for the childish behaviour.
Lisbon practically huffed as she followed the stubborn man into his makeshift office. Honestly, if Jane was going to be this much of an ass about the whole thing, he could just leave as he planned. She didn't have time to put her career on the line for someone who was going to throw it back in her face.
Jane refused to speak to her until she'd pulled the door to his sanctuary shut behind the two of them and drew the deadbolt. He spun to face her as he heard her slide the door closed, and the look on his face let Lisbon know just how he was feeling; his resentment was written all over his handsome features. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, a determined look in his eye.
The two of them stood facing each other in something akin to a Mexican standoff. Neither were willing to give ground first, both determined to have the last word in their latest argument. Lisbon wouldn't normally have minded, but it seemed to her that the whole situation, her whole working relationship and friendship with the man in front of her had changed in the blink of an eye. She had had no inkling that Jane could be so vicious and cold-hearted in something that wasn't related directly to Red John. If she was honest with herself, this new, malicious side to Jane was not pleasant and just a little bit frightening. It put her on the back foot and that was one place she didn't like to be.
She stood defensively, her back to the door and arms folded across her chest, daring Jane to treat her the same way he had Wainwright. He wouldn't know what hit him if he did. After a tense minute Jane seemed to realise that she wasn't going to back down, and rested his arms by his side. Granted, it seemed like he'd moved his arms with reluctance, but to her, the simple gesture was as good as a surrender.
"So," he said, seemingly not wanting to have this conversation any more than she did. His tone wasn't malicious, but she could tell he still resented her for stopping him.
"So," she merely said in reply, matching his scathing gaze. "Want to explain what the hell that was all about?"
Jane looked at her then, eyebrows creased in frustration. He raised his hand to run through his hair as he let out an almost exasperated sigh.
"Not particularly." He eventually said, the tone implying that he considered the matter closed. "You can leave now you know." He gestured at the door behind her and turned once again to look out of the window, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Behind his back, Lisbon rolled her eyes. Honestly.
"Yes Jane, of course. I'll just go right now shall I?"
"Sounds like an excellent plan Lisbon. See you later," he mumbled, not shifting from his position by the window.
Lisbon didn't make a move to leave though. Instead she sighed and glanced around the room, before she headed towards his makeshift desk. Jane didn't turn around as her footsteps fell across the old wooden floor, although she could see his jaw set rigidly and she knew he was trying to figure out what she was doing as she approached him from behind. She didn't, however, engage him in any further conversation and he stubbornly refused to turn his head to track her movements.
She grabbed the chair that sat next to the desk and made a big show of dragging it across the floor. The noise of the legs scraping against the wood reminded her of chalk and blackboards from high school, but she ignored it in favour of making a point to the man stood at the window. She placed the chair calmly in front of the attic door, took off her jacket and placed it on the back then sat down, legs and arms crossed. She sat patiently, taking her phone out and sending a quick text to Cho to let him know where she was in case she was needed. The familiar chirp of her cell sounded seconds later, her second in command letting her know that backup was available if required.
An awkward silence followed for the next few minutes. Jane was still refusing to look at her, but Lisbon was quite willing to wait if it meant getting the stupid man in front of her to actually explain what was going on. Eventually, his curiosity regarding her actions became too much for him to ignore. She smirked as he let out another frustrated sigh and turned to face her.
"What are you doing?" He waved his hand vaguely in her direction in question.
"Sitting down. Thought you were the master of observation?" If he wanted to go for non-committal, she could match him blow for blow.
"I am. Clearly you're sat there for some inane reason. There's really no need; I told you that you could leave."
Lisbon looked up at him then, a falsely sweet smile on her lips. She hoped she succeeded in letting him know that he was treading too closely to the boundaries.
"Jane, contrary to popular belief, your dazzling charms do not simply cause every woman in the world to do exactly as you command whenever you deem it necessary. Therefore, I'm going to sit here until you explain what on earth is going through your head, or you decide to physically move me out of the way in order to leave. It's your choice." Ball's in your court Jane. She shrugged at him then sat still.
Jane looked at her in bewilderment. Lisbon could clearly see that, for once, she had managed to surprise him. She smiled to herself. Just because she didn't agree with his constant manipulations didn't mean that she couldn't learn a few tricks of the trade. He clearly hadn't expected her to stop him at the elevators, and he really hadn't thought that she would demand his compliance like this.
He still stood by the window, but his hands were now on his hips, a conflicted look on his face. Lisbon could tell that he was struggling to come to a decision, and it was in that moment that she realised that although they were only a few feet apart, it felt like there was a canyon between them. Something had gone wrong between them, something that had led to him being unable, or even unwilling, to trust her.
Her tone immediately softened, trying a different approach. "Please Jane, don't do this; don't distance yourself from everyone. Wainwright will understand. What with the anniversary and everything, we all know you've not been yourself."
"I have been myself Lisbon," he muttered, looking up at her. "This, this arrogance and anger? That's who I really am inside. It's what got my family killed and it's what's likely to get you and everyone else I've been close to in the last 10 years hurt or killed as well. I can't have more deaths on my head Lisbon, surely you understand that?"
Lisbon took a step forward, coming to stand closer to him, hoping to put her point across.
"I've known you for nearly 10 years Jane, and I've never seen you act like I did just now. Not even when Red John is involved. Yes, you've pissed people off and I've seen you angry, but malicious like that? Never!"
He shrugged then, and his actions made her angry again. Did he think that she'd be so easily fooled? She was fast coming to the realisation that he'd planned at least part of the argument with Wainwright, had purposely set out to get himself fired, although to what end she didn't know.
"Please Jane. Trust me. Let me help you." Her tone was pleading again she knew, but she needed him to understand that she was here for him. Even if he was pissed at her, and even if he felt it wasn't fully justified, he still deserved her help. He always did.
He sighed and waited a couple of seconds, looking right at her. He looked to Lisbon as if he was trying to make a big decision about revealing what was going on. Eventually he nodded, as if realising that she wasn't going to use whatever he was going to say against him.
"Alright. I'll tell you. But nothing goes out of this room ok?"
Lisbon didn't say anything, just nodded and sat down on the chair she had vacated earlier and waited, giving him time to process his thoughts. Eventually, after a minute or so, he turned to face her.
"What does Red John want from me?"
She looked up at him in confusion. Jane continued, his tone full of disgust as he spoke of his enemy.
"He sent that little girl to me. Asked me if I was ready to give up yet. He wants me to surrender, to join him. He wants me as one of his disciples. So," he said, moving to lean against the bunk, "I was going to fake a breakdown for his benefit. Make him believe that it had all gotten too much for me and that I was prepared to sell my soul to get some peace."
He looked at her then, and Lisbon could tell that he was probably already regretting telling her this much of his so called 'plan'. Really, did Jane honestly think that faking a breakdown was the best way to get Red John's attention? He really was an idiot.
"So," she started, looking up at him, "let me get this straight. You were going to fake a breakdown, get yourself fired and then what? Hope that Red John came knocking on your motel door and ask you to join him no questions asked."
Jane shook his head almost guiltily.
"No. I was thinking more of disappearing to Vegas for a while and seeing what happened. Red John knows, or at least he thinks he does, that I'm on the edge and that I'm close to giving up. It's why I burnt the Red John files."
"I still can't believe you did that by the way, Security were convinced you were going to burn the place down."
"It's fine, I made copies beforehand and kept the fire contained in that garbage bin, despite the big deal Security made about it. It was all part of the show Lisbon; never know who's watching now. I used the fire to show whoever Red John's spy is that I was slowly losing it."
"And apart from some vague plan to disappear to Vegas, were there any other bright ideas in there? If Red John approached you…"
"Not if, when," he interrupted.
"Ok, when," she stressed, rolling her eyes at him, "Red John approached you, did you have a plan at all?"
He was silent then and bowed his head as he mumbled, so quiet that she missed what he said.
"Sorry, what was that?" He didn't repeat himself, so Lisbon stood and moved towards him, coming to a stop right in front of him. "Jane? What were you going to do?"
He sighed and looked up at her, his eyes filled with something that looked like shame.
"Lull him into a false sense of security, get him to trust me then kill him the first opportunity I got."
She paused. Lisbon had always known what his endgame was, had always fought with him about it. But to put that part of the plan in place with all of the other puzzle pieces made her worried and a little angry.
"So, when you were leaving earlier, you were just going to disappear to Vegas, continue to fake a breakdown, wait for Red John to meet you then kill him. All without saying goodbye?" She was angry with herself as she realised her voice had broken just a little and she could feel start of tears in her eyes. Thankfully, Jane's head was bowed, his chin resting on his chest so he wasn't witness to her almost blatant show of emotion.
He didn't say anything in reply, as if realising just what his actions would have done to her. Lisbon dreaded to think what could have happened. Would he have ever called or text, found any way of keeping in touch with her? She could just imagine going five or six months without hearing from him, and then suddenly being informed by Wainwright that Jane had been arrested, or worse, found dead, murdered by the man he'd set out to kill himself. God, she never would have recovered. How could he have even considered this as a sensible plan? How could he have believed that she wouldn't have wanted to help? She managed to compose herself before she spoke again.
"I have to be honest Jane," she said, a hint of humour in her voice, "Your plan is pretty stupid. And reckless, even for you. And you would have probably ended up dead because of it. But…" she paused then, waiting until his eyes met hers before she continued, and she tentatively reached out to grab his hand, fingers gripping the tips of his ever so slightly. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me what it was."
He lifted his head then and smiled slightly at her words, and Lisbon was glad to see that the anger and resentment she had seen in his features not too long ago had disappeared, replaced by the man she knew and considered her friend. He reached to hold her hand completely then, threading his fingers through hers. He didn't look at her now, and Lisbon saw that his eyes were focused purely on their linked hands. She gave his fingers a little squeeze in reassurance.
"It's ok Lisbon. I should have trusted you with it all before, but once things went into motion I felt I couldn't risk your life or anyone else's."
Lisbon was still close to him, their hands still linked, and she took a shiny step forward. Jane looked at her inquisitively, clearly wondering what she was up to. Normally she tried to maintain a somewhat professional distance from people, especially Jane, but now, after he'd trusted her with something like this she found she couldn't. Lisbon realised that the reason he'd wanted to escape without saying goodbye was not because he didn't trust her or the others, but because he felt some sort of need to protect them all.
She reluctantly dropped his hand, immediately missing the contact. Instead, she reached out and placed a small hand on his chest, the reassuring beat of his heart having a steadying effect as she steeled herself to reveal her next words. It was all or nothing now. There was no going back, no hiding anything from him. He'd know if she was lying anyway. He always did.
"That was never your decision to make Jane. We all knew what we signed up for when we joined this team, and we all know how Red John operates. We've all been at risk for a long time and we've all known it. He isn't your burden to carry alone anymore. We're a team, a family even. The sooner you remember that, the quicker we can all work together to bring him down."
And, drawing closer, giving him plenty of time to move away, she reached up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, her lips touching the light stubble on his face. She hadn't intended it to be anything more than a comforting gesture, a way to let him know that he meant something to someone, meant something to her. But somehow there was a heavy weight that came with the kiss. It suddenly felt intimate, a symbol of something deep and underlying between them. Lisbon realised that she'd probably made a huge mistake, especially given that Jane had essentially frozen in place as soon as her lips had touched his skin.
She immediately felt like an idiot. 9 years of semi-reluctant hugs, a little bit of flirting and a lot of arguments and all of a sudden she decided to hold his hand and then kiss him. No wonder the man was shocked and likely confused. She pulled away and stared at her shoes in embarrassment.
Lisbon felt a finger under her chin and she reluctantly looked up, looking once more into his eyes, and was relieved to see that he seemed to have gotten over his awkwardness. He stood there, hands now shoved in his pockets, looking at her with an inane grin on his face.
All she could think to do was roll her eyes. She still felt flustered, even if he didn't.
"Look Jane, you know I… you know I care about you right? That I consider you a friend. A good friend; possibly even my best friend." She watched as he nodded, but he didn't reply. She was thankful for that; she wasn't sure what she'd say if he'd called her on her feelings. "Please, don't abandon us just because of a stupid argument. Stay here, and we'll work on finding him together, like we always have. If he comes for us then so be it; we'll be better prepared if we're all together, not with the team here and you 600 miles away in some God-awful casino."
She could see from the look in his eyes that he was taking the words she said seriously, but that there was something behind his cool exterior that probably wanted to tell her 'no', to tell her that they were all better off if he were allowed to carry on with his ridiculous plan. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke, his voice low.
"Wainwright will never take me back. You heard what he said."
"Leave Wainwright to me; he'll understand. And if in doubt, you could always hypnotise him I guess," she smiled up at him then, hoping that her humour would snap him out of his slightly melancholy mood.
He raised a questioning eyebrow up at her.
"Teresa Lisbon endorsing the use of hypnotism? I must be important."
"Of course you're important. Don't you dare think anything different Jane. You'll always be important to me, even when you're an ass and causing me too many paperwork-related headaches. I don't fill out all those forms for just anybody you know."
"So, you really want me to stay?"
"Of course I do you idiot. But don't start fishing for compliments Jane. Believe me, I'm still pissed at you."
"Noted. And you'll speak to Wainwright for me?"
She nodded slightly before she spoke. "That is, if you want to continue working here?"
"I do. He's close Lisbon, I just know it. I suppose if I leave now everything I… we've worked for these last 10 years will be for nothing. I want to stay. If Wainwright will take me back that is. That's the key thing I suppose." He ran his hand through his hair again, as if still unsure of his actions. Lisbon was still slightly wary; she figured Jane might still try and make a break for it given half a chance.
"I'll go speak to him now. Hang around here; he'll probably want a personal apology, and there'll more than likely be a suspension involved, but I'm sure you'll find something to keep yourself occupied with for few weeks."
She smiled up at him, letting him know that she was willing to fight for him, that she wanted him here, with the team; with her. He returned the smile and pulled her to him, reaching to envelope her in a tight hug. Lisbon was initially surprised, and then relaxed into the comforting gesture.
"Thanks Lisbon. For not giving up on me."
"Think nothing of it Jane. I'll always be there to help you out; you know that right?"
He didn't say anything in reply, but she felt him nod against her shoulder.
Hours later, after several long meetings with various combinations of herself, Jane, Wainwright and Bertram, Lisbon sunk heavily onto her sofa clad in her most comfortable football jersey, a cold beer in one hand and the remains of the previous night's Chinese in the other. She flicked on the TV, hoping to catch the end of the Cubs game, and settled for a bit of ESPN when the baseball proved elusive.
She was just waiting for the analysis of the game she'd missed when a soft knock sounded at the door. She glanced at the clock on the mantle. 10:30pm. There was only one person she knew who would bother her at this time of the evening. Sighing and pulling her jersey as far as she could down her legs, she wandered over to the door.
She hadn't seen much of Jane since the meetings had concluded earlier that evening. Wainwright, with prompting from both herself and Bertram, had reluctantly accepted him back in the CBI's employ. Jane had, fortunately, kept his mouth shut during a majority of the meetings, and had accepted Wainwright's terms of a month's suspension and a 3 month probation period with good grace. Even more surprisingly, Lisbon thought, was that the apology he had bestowed upon the young CBI chief had sounded sincere. It seemed that he'd finally realised that he had overstepped the boundaries and was willing to put his pride aside to stay on the Red John case; to stay with them.
She figured he'd wandered off to sort out the attic, seeing as he was effectively banned from CBI for a month. She didn't want to crowd him, knew that she'd played a part in his reinstatement and that she'd likely never get as much as a thank you from him. That was just how Jane worked, and Lisbon knew he was never really going to change.
She unbolted her door and pulled it open, looking up to meet the bright green eyes of Patrick Jane. He was still wearing the same suit from earlier, although it was now looking slightly more rumpled. She thought, on reflection, that he'd probably been napping in the attic the entire time; she wouldn't put it past him.
"Hey," he said, as means of a hello. "Can I come in?"
"Hey yourself," she said, waving him inside, stepping back as his made his way past her in the doorway. He looked her up and down, obviously making note of her less than professional attire, and she belatedly realised that a majority of her legs were still on show. She felt a little shiver go down her spine as she felt his gaze on her. "You want a drink or something?"
He didn't say anything in reply, just shook his head looking decidedly awkward as he stood in the middle of her living room. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and Lisbon almost laughed at the look on his face. It was as if he was a teenager picking up his first date. She wondered what was wrong, so she asked him.
He frowned slightly, as if unsure of what to say. It was so unlike Jane to be lost for words that Lisbon was instantly on edge. She could sense that something was wrong.
"Jane? What's the matter?"
He sighed and looked at her then, pinning her with a look that suggested that whatever he was about to say wouldn't be good news.
"I'm leaving," he said eventually. That was it. Two simple words. In two words he'd managed to make the bottom of her world drop out from under her. It took her a couple of seconds to work through her shock to answer. Her tone was accusing when she replied, her hands placed on her hips as she faced him.
"What do you mean you're leaving? I thought you were going to stay. After everything I did for you today, everything we spoke about, you're still going to leave?"
She was angry again then. He'd led her on, essentially got her to beg and plead for Wainwright and Bertram to keep him on and he was still going to leave? She didn't know what to say.
"No!" he said quickly, as if sensing that he'd made a mistake in stating his intentions so bluntly. "Not forever. Just for a bit."
"Oh. Ok." She was keeping her answers short, because she was likely to explode if she had to speak in full sentences.
"I'll be gone for my suspension. Going to go for a bit of a drive I think. Going to head to Vegas, Malibu. Couple of other places maybe. I told Pete I'd try and catch up with him and the others at some point as well; haven't seen them for a couple of years and now I've got the time…"
Lisbon merely nodded, trying to process everything. He wasn't leaving, not permanently at least. And he'd had the decency to come and tell her first, not just disappearing off into the ether. It seemed that she'd actually managed to get through to him about what he meant to her and the team, that he was worthy of their trust and vice versa. She was relieved that he didn't seem intent on following through with his ridiculous plan from earlier, although, she thought, if he was leaving now he probably still had something still up his sleeve.
"When you heading out?" She asked, looking up at him.
"In a bit, going to see if I can reach Vegas by morning and check in somewhere."
"Right." Lisbon honestly didn't know what to say. Did he expect her to try and talk him out of leaving again? She was fed up with the mixed signals from this man to be truthful.
They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds, before Jane motioned to the door.
"Well," he said, moving quickly. "Better be off then." He turned then, and walked purposefully to the door, resting his hand on the handle without turning it.
"Uh, yeah. Ok," was all she could think to say, Jane's demeanour throwing her into total confusion.
There was more awkward silence, and Lisbon had a feeling that Jane hadn't driven here just with the intention of telling her what his plans were. He seemed to stand at the door for an eternity before he dropped his hand and turned back to face her, a determined look on his face. Lisbon was confused. Did he want to leave or not? She watched as he moved to stand in front of her. When he didn't seem to do anything, Lisbon looked up at him.
"Jane?"
He suddenly lent forward, placing his hands softly on her cheeks, drawing her face closer to his. He gave her plenty of time to back away, just as she had done for him in the attic. However, instead of the awkward kiss on the cheek she had bestowed upon him earlier, the kiss he gave her on her lips was soft and, she realised, a promise of something more.
He pulled away almost as soon as he'd placed his lips to hers, his thumbs brushing her cheeks as he moved away and Lisbon had to fight the urge to raise her fingers to her lips where they still tingled from his touch. He stepped back slightly, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. The awkwardness returned, lingering between them just like it had in the attic earlier. Lisbon was tempted to just grab his jacket and pull him to her, to kiss him properly. But, she realised, that probably wouldn't be the wisest decision she could ever make.
Jane eventually spoke, smiling shyly at her, looking much younger. "I realised while I was packing that you'd given up a lot to get Wainwright to allow me to stay; I'm pretty sure your career progress will be slim to none now, and you sacrificed that for me. I wanted to thank you for that. For believing in me that much to give up what you value most."
She didn't really know what to say to that. God, why did this man have to confuse her so much? Eventually she felt that she had to reply and let him know what his words had meant to her.
"Oh." Apparently receiving a kiss from Patrick Jane left her dumbstruck and unable to put a sentence together. "Well, you're welcome. For, uh, saying thank you." She said stupidly, wincing as she realised the inanity of her words. He chuckled.
"Don't mention it. Just thought I'd leave you something to remember me by while I'm gone." He laughed again at the roll of her eyes as he wiggled his eyebrows slightly, clearly refering to the kiss. She wasn't going to over think the gesture, it was dangerous territory and she knew it.
"Oh yes, because the mountains of paperwork I've still to do isn't a constant reminder."
"Meh, it'll run out soon enough; I won't be around to help add to it. You'll have it finished in no time I'm sure."
"Yeah, well, that'll be a relief. I might actually be able to get home before midnight while you're gone."
He smiled at her, thankfully not raising his obvious concerns about her workaholic tendencies. Although, to be fair, he was just as bad as she was so there was no valid argument on his behalf. He glanced around the room then, as if looking for an answer to an unspoken question, then returned his gaze to hers.
"I'll keep in touch as much as I can. I can't promise every day, but I'll let you know where I am."
She smiled. "That's fine." She waved towards the door. "Go on, you better get moving. Vegas is a long drive away. And Jane?" she said, and she watched as he turned slightly to look at her, "I didn't sacrifice anything; I would do anything to help you, you should know that by now."
He didn't say anything in reply, just smiled and nodded once and opened the door, disappearing quietly into the night. Lisbon watched the lights of his car fade as reached the end of the street and decided to head straight to bed, abandoning the TV and the Chinese once again. She had a feeling it was going to be a long month without him.
